Amazon.com to build third California distribution center

SACRAMENTO -- Internet retailer Amazon.com -- after years of avoiding having any physical presence in California -- is planning to open a third massive distribution center in the Golden State.

The new operation is in Tracy, a distant bedroom community for the San Francisco Bay Area south of Sacramento. The facility will be only about 30 miles from a second Amazon center being built in Patterson to the south.

Last month, the Seattle company cut the ribbon on a 950,000-square-foot facility in the city of San Bernardino, which started filling orders before the holiday shopping season.

Amazon did not respond to queries Tuesday seeking confirmation of local newspaper reports of the plans for the Tracy distribution center.

However, the wife of Tracy Mayor Brent Ives confirmed the news, saying people in town were thrilled and looking forward to the economic development and jobs the facility would bring.

Amazon decided to build the three California facilities after agreeing in a 2011 deal with Gov. Jerry Brown to start collecting state and local sales taxes on goods purchased by California shoppers.

The company also promised to open at least two so-called fulfillment centers providing potentially thousands of badly needed jobs in such economically hard-hit regions as the Inland Empire and the Central Valley.